Love Like Fire
by Summer's Sunlight
Summary: After a horrible housefire leaves her arm disfigured, life only goes downhill for Lydia. Her family & friends have turned on her, but a new friend, a new boyfriend, & a new perspective might help her find something better BradyOC Sequel to Love Like Crazy
1. Everything Goes Up In Smoke

**The writing bug has whacked me upside the head, and I can't stop writing now! While that may be good news for you (it means I will now write the sequel to Love Like Crazy!), it's bad news for me: my homework is piling up. I have two full books to read - by Monday. *Sigh* Why did I want to go to college again?**

**So this is the sequel to my most popular story, Love Like Crazy. If you would like a more comprehensive summary, it's at the bottom of my profile page. This will be a story about Brady's imprint, and her struggles with, well, becoming a good person, basically. Katie, Seth, and the other characters from LLC will make regular appearances, so you will see them again!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. I never will. Hell, I don't _want_ to own Twilight. I would be ashamed of my story-telling skills if that shit ever came from my pen. Katie, Lydia, all OCs, and the plot belong to me, though.**

**Also, I have never been in a house fire. I don't know what it's like. Everything I wrote came from pure imagination. If you think fires don't "happen that way", or people don't "react that way", or injuries don't "happen that way", I will say this once: I don't give a shit. It's fanfiction. Who the hell cares about what would "actually" happen? So please, don't correct me on this. I don't care.**

**After that incredibly long note, please enjoy the first chapter of Love Like Fire!**

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><p>Lydia's POV<p>

It was a typical Friday. It was raining in the small town of Forks on a dreary February afternoon. The high school cafeteria was crammed with students during lunch, all of them eating, laughing and talking, some doing all three at the same time. My table was packed with all of my friends, and Audrey was shining.

She was in her element, the perpetual center of attention. She was telling a funny story, laughing and flirting and being her ultra-sexy self. All of our guy friends were drooling over her, and her girl friends wished they knew how she did it.

I knew how Audrey did it, though – she was beautiful, she was smart, clever, funny, sexy, and an all-around popular girl. I didn't have her long, lustrous blonde hair. I didn't have her long, sexy legs that were a mile long. I didn't have her vibrant personality. I didn't have her stunning eyes or sultry pout. The only thing I had that even came close to Audrey was my fashion sense, and even then I didn't have Audrey's budget. She was just perfect.

I had hair that was such a dark brown it looked black. My skin was pale, my height and weight were average, and my personality was boring.

Okay, so watching Audrey being perfect gave me a complex. Could anyone blame me? I've been her best friend since kindergarten, and I've watched her be perfect for just as long.

"And then she burst out of the room, crying her eyes out! She hasn't come back to school since, can you believe it?" Audrey laughed, and everyone laughed with her.

"Wow, Ashley is so _pathetic_," Lindsey howled.

"Her parents will probably move because of it," I said snidely.

"Tch, they don't have the money to just up and move away," Audrey said. "She'll either get over it, which I totally doubt, or she'll switch to home school."

"Speaking of pathetic…" Lindsey started, looking over Audrey's shoulder.

Katie Carter was walking by with her tray of food – or, rather, an empty tray.

"It'll take more than that tiny salad to fix all that's wrong with that girl," I laughed.

"Like her clothes," Joanna said. "She looks homeless."

"No, she's just wearing hand-me-downs from her boyfriends on the rez," Audrey said. "Ten bucks says she's sleeping with at least three of them."

"Twenty says she's sleeping with them all," Lindsey sneered. "I mean, like, come on! Who else hangs out with only sex gods like them?"

"A giant slut," Ethan said, suddenly appearing behind me and Audrey, and squeezing between us to sit down. "With an equally giant vagina."

"Oh, Ethan, that's so gross!" Audrey said playfully.

"True, but gross," Joanna chimed in.

"Omg, I totally forgot to tell you guys!" Lindsey gasped. "My parents are going to Seattle for the weekend! We'll have the house to ourselves tonight, so bring the booze and the party animals!"

"Awesome," Ethan enthused. "I need to cut loose. This week has been, like, complete hell. I'll bring the little bit of Captain…"

Ethan sidled up to Audrey, nudging her side playfully.

The party plans went on for another half hour before the bell rang, and we headed to our respective classes. But Audrey pulled me aside before Biology.

"Lydia, you have got to be more subtle," she started. "I mean, at least _try_ to breathe when Ethan is in the same room as you!"

Damn. I thought I was hiding my feelings pretty well. But when it comes to high school relationships, Audrey didn't miss much.

"Was I that obvious?" I cringed.

"No, I don't think he noticed. But that's the _problem_. He's not noticing you! We need a plan to get you two together," Audrey mused.

"Like what?" I asked skeptically.

"Like… I'll go out with Ethan," Audrey said excitedly. "Just for a few dates. Then, I'll break his heart. Smash it into, like, a million pieces. And there you'll be, the sweet best friend of the giant bitch who dumped him, showing him love and compassion and helping heal his wounded heart. Which will totally make him fall for you. It's foolproof!"

"I don't know…" I hesitated. The idea of Audrey going out with Ethan was like a knife to the heart, but if it meant he would be with me in the end…

"It'll work, trust me. I'll see you later," Audrey said, and rushed off to her class.

Two boring classes later, and we were finally free for the weekend. I was _sooo_ excited for the party, I could barely contain myself. Like Ethan had said, I needed to cut loose and have a good time. My life was so stressed, I felt like I was being pulled in eighteen different directions.

My younger sister Amanda was waiting for me at my car, in her typical bad mood. She was dressed in nothing but black (which was nothing new) and her hair was a viciously bright pink (which _was_ new). Her and her friends must have dyed it in the bathroom sink again.

She used to have such pretty blonde hair… then again, she used to be pretty in general until she went all emo and goth. I mean, she was wearing more eyeliner than Adam Lambert. And don't get me started on that godawful, floor-length black trench coat.

"Can we go already? I've been waiting forever," she snapped at me.

I didn't bother responding as I unlocked the doors of my Toyota Corolla. It was a late nineties model, but it was okay.

The drive home was silent. Neither of us said a word, and we couldn't play music because she didn't like pop, and I didn't like screamo death metal.

When we finally got home, she ran to her room. My mother was in the kitchen, staring at her laptop at the kitchen table.

"I finally spoke to your brother today," she said absentmindedly, not looking up from her computer. "He's doing well in Afghanistan. He said your father is doing well, too. They both send their love, and your father will be home in May."

"Thanks for the update, Mom."

"No problem, Mandy."

I cringed. That's the fourth time this week she's mistaken me for Amanda. It's starting to get old.

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><p>Two hours later, and I still couldn't decide on what I wanted to wear.<p>

Well, I had spent an hour and a half of that time showering and styling my hair into big, loose curls. I hadn't put on any make-up yet, because I hadn't decided on what I was wearing.

This was a glorified high school kegger party, so my little black dress was too fancy. But jeans and a T-shirt weren't going to turn Ethan's head…

I was waiting for a spark of inspiration to strike while I leafed through my closet, but nothing came. Should I call Audrey for help? No, I needed to stop depending on her so much. She'll also direct me to something that isn't as cool as her outfit so she'll stand out. She's kind of self-centered that way.

Then the black sequined tank top caught my eye from the far corner of my closet. I held it up to a pair of deep, dark blue skinny jeans and bright red pumps. It was _perfect_. Why had it taken this long for me to figure out? The choice seemed so obvious now.

With my awesome outfit picked out, I decided I should get dinner before taking off. Drinking on an empty stomach is never a good idea.

I made a simple chicken dish that wouldn't leave a rotten smell in my mouth (I was brushing my teeth before I left, too). My mother never looked up. Every now and then she would mutter something about how my father better come home in one piece, or how my brother was stupid to join the Marines like my father. These bitter asides were commonplace from my mother.

After eating dinner, I quickly ran back upstairs to pack my overnight bag, do my make-up, and change into my party outfit.

By the time I was done, it was a little after seven o'clock, which meant it was time to head out. I threw my stilettos into my bag, and donned a baggy zip-up hoodie to hide my outfit from my mother. She didn't notice a lot, but even she wouldn't miss this.

As I opened the front door, I heard her call, "Lydia? Where are you going?"

"I'm going to Lindsey's house for the sleepover! I told you this a week ago, you said it was okay!" I yelled back. I never mentioned it, and she never said it was okay. She wouldn't remember.

"Oh, okay! Have fun, be safe!"

I rolled my eyes, threw my bag in the backseat, and sped out of the driveway towards Lindsey's house. It was sure to be a night to remember.

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><p>When I arrived, Lindsey's driveway was already packed with cars that I had often seen at the high school. It looked like half the school had shown up. Well, the cool half, anyway.<p>

It was a good thing Lindsey's house was about half a mile away from the road and any neighbors. My car was shaking from the bass of whatever music they were playing. I couldn't help but get amped up.

I pulled off my hoodie, slipped my stilettos on, and got out of the car (I would get my overnight bag later).

High heels have a way of changing how you stand and how you walk. Your posture is better; your hips sway; you have a certain swagger that turns heads. It felt awesome, and it was a total confidence booster. I wasn't worried about Ethan noticing me anymore. How could he miss me? I looked good, and I wasn't afraid to flaunt it.

I walked through the front door like a rock star, stopping just a few feet in to take in the place. The front room had already been trashed, and was filled with partying teenagers, varying from tipsy to hilariously drunk. No one was wasted yet; the night was still young.

"Lydia, baby, looking good!" Ethan's friend Dustin called out. I just flashed him a winning smile.

The kitchen was the same as the living room. Teens were packed in, each chugging an alcoholic beverage of some kind. I found Lindsey quickly, as she almost ran into me.

"This party is off the hook! I amaze myself!" she giggled and hiccupped in my ear.

"I couldn't have done better myself," I told her.

She giggled again and went back to doing Jello shots with another girl from our grade.

I was starting to get impatient. I wanted Ethan to see me looking as good as Audrey for once.

Ethan was such a cool guy, so much more than everyone thought he was. He was kind, and generous, and fun-loving, and humorous, and so many other wonderful things I couldn't even begin to describe. And good-looking. Definitely good-looking. The way his dirty blonde hair fell slightly in his big brown eyes… it was enough to make any girl swoon.

After searching the den, and the upstairs bedrooms, I called it quits and decided to ask for help.

Dustin and about six other teens were playing King's Cup in the den, so I decided Dustin was drunk enough to not wonder why I was asking about Ethan (he would also be too drunk to remember tomorrow, too).

"Hey, Dustin," I greeted him with a big smile, knowing what a flirt he was.

"Hey, baby girl! You want in on this? We are getting messed up, if you know what I mean," he said with a dashing smile.

"Nah, thanks, but I'm looking for Ethan. Do you know where he is?" I asked playfully.

"Yep. He's in the office down the hall," he said, pointing (at least, trying to point) to the left.

"Thanks, Dustin! You're the best!" I said happily. Finally!

I tried to push away my nerves as I approached the office's door. After all, this was my big chance to finally get him to notice me. What was he doing in the office, anyway? Probably getting away from all the noise or something. Maybe we would even kiss tonight… Oh my god, insert girly squeal here!

I opened the office door, and immediately wished I hadn't. That I had remained ignorant of this painful, painful knowledge. The knife in my chest from earlier came back with a vengeance.

Ethan and Audrey were tangled together behind the desk, so all I could see was down to their waists. Which I should be eternally grateful for, because they were naked except for Audrey's black lacey bra. They were having sex.

I immediately backed up and closed the door. They had been so… preoccupied… they hadn't even noticed me.

My confidence shattered, and I felt hollow without it. The knife throbbed, not only because of the pain and betrayal, but the fact that I should have seen this coming. Of course Audrey was having sex with him already. That was what she wanted all along. I had wanted him… and she stole him just because she could.

Surprisingly, I wasn't that heartbroken from finding Ethan with another girl. The betrayal from Audrey went much deeper. I had thought she was my friend. I should have known Audrey was too selfish for true friendship.

I slumped onto a couch, not really feeling the party mood anymore. I just wanted to shrink into this sofa and disappear.

About an hour or two later, Lindsey appeared and slumped beside me. Her face looked slightly green, and she didn't look as happy as she had earlier.

"You feeling okay?" I asked, concerned.

She opened her mouth, but no simple "yes" or "no" came out. Only vomit. A lot of vomit.

It got all over the coffee table, the rug, the hardwood floors… if it was across from Lindsey at that moment, it had vomit on it. Including a couple of glaring girls.

I pulled Lindsey up and dragged her up the stairs – which was _not_ as easy as it sounded – to the bathroom.

I held her curly hair out of the way while she puked her guts out. It took longer than I thought, but it was finally over in about fifteen minutes. We both slumped to the side, and Lindsey passed out on the tile. I sat against the wall, wondering what the hell I was doing here.

It's not like I was having fun. Far from it, actually. And tomorrow morning, I would have to help everyone with hangovers… and help clean up. After Lindsey's episode, that was so not happening. I would get Lindsey in bed, and take off. It was late enough; my mother wouldn't be awake. No one here would remember where I'd gone. Hell, they probably wouldn't even remember ninety-five percent of tonight.

I helped Lindsey up. She was already half asleep, but she was trying to help… sort of.

I could hear yells and screams coming from downstairs. Who knew what the hell was going on this time. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at their stupidity. I knew they were drunk, but I couldn't help but judge. It was probably just a spider, or rat, or something else that was stupid.

It took me a while to finally get Lindsey tucked into her bed. She looked so sweet and pretty when she wasn't puking all over the place.

People continued to holler and scream, but it was coming from outside now. Did they want to wake up Lindsey's neighbors? Or half the damn town?

I hopped down the stairs to get the hell out, but instead of being greeted by giggling drunks, I was greeted by a blazing conflagration. All of the furniture was on fire, _everything_ looked like it was on fire. It didn't look like anyone else was inside, so I rushed back upstairs.

Lindsey hadn't moved, so I none-too-gently dragged her ass out of bed. The flames hadn't reached the stairs yet, so getting Lindsey down those was surprisingly easy. I think she realized something was wrong, and she needed to get out of the house. Facing death has a way of motivating people.

The living room was a different story. The smoke was suffocating. The furniture and parts of the rug were all on fire, so I grabbed a corner of the biggest rug, and flipped it over so it was now in half – thus smothering the fire on it, and leaving a path to the front door. I pulled Lindsey across as quickly as I could manage, and before I knew it, we were out the front door.

Joanna cried out in joy when she saw us, and rushed over to help. Ethan was suddenly by my side, and took Lindsey from me.

"Are you all right?" Joanna cried into my shoulder while she hugged me tightly.

"Yeah," I rasped. "Did everyone get out?"

Joanna didn't answer. Ethan looked around.

I looked around myself. I was pretty sure everyone that had been in the house was now out – except for a certain blonde.

"Where's Audrey?" I asked.

"Not out here," Ethan said simply.

I balked at his callousness. How could he talk about Audrey's life so meaninglessly?

"Don't look at me like that," he said defensively. "None of us can go back in there, or we'll die, too."

My anger at him could only grow. How could he just leave Audrey to die in there?

It was stupid. It was easily the stupidest thing I had ever done in my entire life. Audrey wouldn't have done it for me. She wouldn't want to mess up her hair. But I turned away from my friends to face the burning house – and ran back inside.

The smoke was even worse than before. I tucked my mouth into the crook of my arm, but it helped only so much. The path I had cleared earlier by flipping the rug was still clear – for the moment. I prayed it would last.

I ran through the hall. Thankfully, it hadn't filled with flames yet, but the smoke was even worse. I forced my way through the door into the office, where I had last seen Audrey. She lay face down on the floor, only a short skirt and a bra on. She was out cold, but from smoke inhalation or alcohol, I couldn't tell.

Needless to say, I tried to wake her, but she only murmured slightly before falling unconscious again. I gave up quickly, pulled her arm over my shoulders the same way I had with Lindsey, and pulled her to her feet.

I hadn't anticipated Audrey being dead weight. At least Lindsey had been semi-conscious and had tried to help me. I also hadn't anticipated how quickly the smoke would affect me. My throat was raw and my lungs were on fire. We had to get out, and we had to get out now.

It felt like forever, but I finally got us into the hallway. From there, I could see the front door – and I could see that it was closed, and blocked by the fire. I wanted to break down and cry, scream at the world for doing this to me, but I couldn't. Not yet.

I laid Audrey down in the hallway, and started kicking at the furniture that blocked our way to the bay window. It was huge, and we could easily jump to the front lawn through it. If I could get to it, of course.

The small end table had crashed out of the way as soon as I kicked it. The couch, however, was another story. Inch by inch, the small loveseat slowly moved away. I could feel my shoes starting to melt, could feel the heat through the cheap, fake patent leather, but I continued until the couch was out of our way enough to reach the window. I picked up a decorative paper weight, and threw it through the window. It created a hole the size of my fist – not even close to big enough.

This time, I picked up a plastic floor lamp, and started bashing at the window with it until there was a hole big enough for me and Audrey to fit through.

Then, there was an earth-shattering crash behind me. I turned around to find a bookcase had fallen on Audrey – a burning bookcase.

How it had fallen, I will never know. All I knew was that it was burning and crushing my friend.

I tried to push at it with my bare hands. The wood was so hot, my hands felt like they had been doused in boiling water. I sat beside it, and started shoving with my shoulder. The pain was still intense, but at least the bookcase was starting to move.

Audrey's body moved every time I slammed into the bookcase. I held onto her arm so she wouldn't move with the bookcase, but I knew every shove put her in more pain. My arm – I will never be able to describe the pain, the sheer _agony_ that it was in. My throat and lungs only felt worse.

Finally, after what felt like hours, like days, the bookcase slammed into the floor, freeing Audrey. Her face and chest were an ugly red, but I couldn't stop to think about that now. I had to get us out.

"Are you still in there?" a loud, booming male voice came through the broken window.

"Yes!" I screamed as loud as I could. "Help us! Please!"

I pulled Audrey to the window, and pulled us up onto the ledge. One of the La Push gang was looking at us from a few feet away. He rushed forward, and held out his huge, muscled arms.

Without even pausing to think, I jumped, Audrey in my arms, into the boy. He caught us well enough, and though we crashed to the ground, he broke most of the fall.

Breathing in the clean air was the most beautiful thing I had ever experienced in this world. I gazed up at the night sky, fully aware that a few minutes ago I wasn't sure I would ever see it again.

"Are you okay? Talk to me!" the boy who had caught us was suddenly blocking my view, shaking my shoulders frantically. He looked terrified.

"I'm fine. How's Audrey? Is she okay?" I croaked. My throat felt like I had swallowed acid (my lungs felt like the acid was in them), and my vision was starting to swim as my adrenaline rush started to wind down.

"She's fine. The ambulance is almost here, don't leave me!"

I remember muttering, "I'm not… going… anywhere…"

After that, everything went dark.

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><p><strong>So, that was about twice as long as I meant it to be (almost 4,000 words!), but I have a feeling you guys don't care. Does the story title make sense now? Because it still doesn't to me. Oh well. And that guy at the end is Brady (I wasn't sure how obvious that was).<strong>

**For those who are new to my stories, I found that writing questions at the end of every chapter helps people write longer, more thorough reviews. It also solves the "I want to write something, but I don't know what!" quandry. First: Does Lydia seem like too much of a bully? I promise, she's going to grow out of that, but she does need to GROW. Second: What do you think of the premise of the story? Does it intrigue you? Make you want to scream, "Not another bad high school fanfic!"? Third: What did you think of the fire scene? And Ethan's asshole-ness? Isn't he a perfect asshole? Fourth: What are your predictions for where this story is going? Or suggestions?**

**Please review, and thanks for reading!**


	2. A Kind Smile

**My Monday wasn't that bad, so I decided to write! An update in two days, that must be a record for me... at least, for the last couple months it is. I know I am blessed to have a not-sucky Monday, so I hope you all had a not-sucky Monday too! And if you did, hopefully this cheers you up!**

**Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own Twilight. If I did, Bella would have a personality, Edward would have a spine, and the werewolves would all have jetpacks. Also, I do not own the poem at the end of the chapter. I found it on PoemHunter . com, and I added what I thought were a few improvements.**

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><p>Lydia's POV<p>

I felt like absolute shit.

Awareness came back to me slowly, as if it could take its dear sweet freaking time. I knew I needed to wake up, but for what, I couldn't remember.

Something happened… something bad… that was why I felt awful, both physically and emotionally. It started at the party. People… no… a fire… a fire had started. I had to pull Lindsey out, then go back and get Audrey. Audrey was hurt, badly… but that boy said Audrey was okay.

That boy looked so worried about me. Like a genuinely good person would. He also looked like he was in his mid-twenties and on steroids, so I needed to push away that crush before it started. Damn, that guy was _hot_…

But Audrey was still hurt, and I wasn't going to find out how bad it was by just laying here. It was a herculean effort, but I opened my eyes.

At first everything was just a blurry mix of white and beige. Slowly (everything seemed to be going at a snail's pace), a hospital room came into focus. The only source of color – and the only thing that looked like it wasn't here on a regular basis – was a pretty brunette girl with a sky blue zip-up sweatshirt wrapped around her shoulders.

Her eyes lit up and she smiled when she saw me.

"You're finally awake!" she exclaimed quietly.

"What the hell happened? Where's Audrey?" I asked none-too-politely. I had almost burned to death. I'm allowed to be a bit of a bitch.

My voice rasped like an old smoker's, and my left arm was bound from my wrist to the top of my shoulder in thick bandages. I tried to push it from my mind.

"You passed out from smoke inhalation. Audrey is in surgery right now. She's going to be alright, but her face… it was badly burned. They're doing skin grafts now," the pretty girl said.

I nodded, unable to say anything to that. Audrey had been so beautiful… did she even know how to live without her good looks? She had always relied on them to get her way through life, but now…

Shaking that thought off, I looked closer at my bedside companion. Her milk chocolate brown hair was in a braid that fell almost to her waist, but it had a strong, healthy shine to it. She had a lovely face, complemented by large, expressive light brown eyes, a pretty nose, and lovely pink lips. Even though she was sitting down, it was obvious she was tall – at least, taller than me. She had long legs sheathed in simple jeans, and a cute hourglass figure.

Unlike Audrey, it was obvious this girl didn't obsess over how she looked. She had a natural beauty that simply could not be duplicated by make-up and clothes. I envied that effortlessness.

"Do you need anything? Water would be good; Car- I mean, Dr. Cullen said you would be really dehydrated," she said.

There was an innate sweetness about her that made me want to put her at ease, and tell her that I was perfectly fine and she didn't need to worry about me. But the thought of ice cold water sounded too good to pass up.

"Water sounds good," I tried to say nonchalantly, but I think I failed.

She hopped up, went to the door, peeked through and said, "She needs some water. The colder, the better."

Someone just outside the door scrambled to their feet and ran.

"You have cronies?" I asked.

She smiled. "More like stooges. Do you need – or want – anything else?"

"Well, I want to be able to breathe normally, and to stop feeling like shit, but I doubt you can help me with that," I said humorously. My lungs and my throat still burned, but I was starting to get used to it. Also, she made it easy to deal with.

"Not really. But Dr. Cullen will be in soon now that you're awake, and if anyone can help, he can," she said confidently.

"What's your name?" I asked. I was positive I had never seen this pretty girl at the high school. Maybe she was homeschooled? But I would have heard about her somehow… this wasn't a big town, and she was too young to have already graduated.

"Oh, I'm Katie Carter. It's nice to meet you," she said with a kind smile.

I resisted the urge to let my jaw drop to the floor. _This_ was Katie Carter when she wasn't hiding behind a binder in her too-huge clothes? How did I miss this? How could she be _this freaking beautiful?_

"I think I've seen you around school before," I said cautiously. I didn't want to tell her I had called her a slut just that day. Or was it yesterday at this point? Might as well ask. "What time is it?"

"About five pm," Katie said, pointing to a clock on the wall. "You've been out for more than twelve hours."

"Damn…" I muttered. "Is everyone else alright?"

"Yeah. You were the second worst-off," Katie said. Of course, we both knew who was first. This was the one contest I was glad that I had come in second to Audrey.

There was a gentle knock at the door. Katie cracked it open just wide enough to take a medium glass full of water from a big hand with russet skin… and the water had ice in it. I almost wept with joy.

"Thanks, Brady," she said to my now-favorite person in the world. She handed me the glass carefully. "If the weight is too much, just let me know and I'll help."

I took the glass carefully with my right hand, eager to not spill a drop, and drank deeply. I never thought drinking would feel so good. If I were a super-religious person, I would call it a divine experience with God himself.

"Seriously," I asked as soon as I took a breath, "did God bless this water himself or something?"

Katie chuckled. "I don't think so. But anything is possible, I suppose."

"By the way, who's outside the door waiting for your every order?" I asked.

"Oh, Seth, Collin, and Brady. Brady is the one who caught you when you… jumped," Katie said.

"That guy was pretty hot," I muttered under my breath before resuming a normal tone. "So what are you doing here?"

"My father is a deputy at the police station. When we heard about the fire, I went with him to see if I could help. On a Friday night, the hospital was a little shorthanded trying to deal with everyone, so I offered the nurses to stay with you until you woke up and Dr. Cullen could see you," Katie said.

"That was… really nice of you," I said, stunned. She got out of bed in the wee hours of the morning, probably stayed up all night, just to help someone she didn't know – and someone who insulted her on a regular basis. If she knew that, she would've left instantly.

"I just hated the thought of you waking up alone," Katie said shyly. Ugh, she was the cutest thing ever! I would never be able to make fun of her again.

"You have no idea how much I appreciate it," I said sincerely.

There was a knock at the door, and one of the La Push pack entered. I couldn't remember which one in particular this one was, but Katie seemed to know him. And was glaring at him reprovingly.

"Didn't I tell you to stay out?" she said fiercely. Where was this attitude when the popular girls gave her hell?

"You did," the boy said with an adoring smile. He was obviously head-over-heels in love with her. "But you also need to eat."

He held out a fast food bag unabashedly. Katie looked from the bag, to the boy's face, and back at the bag until he started to sweat.

Eventually, Katie snatched the bag.

"Thank you, baby," he said with a huge smile.

Katie tried to glare, but her smile was cracking through. "Go away."

"Love you, too!" he said, kissed her cheek, and whipped out the door before Katie or I could blink.

"So, how long have you two been going out?" I asked slyly. Katie's answering blush said I was right – at least, the two of them were an item.

"About five months now," Katie said shyly.

Another knock at the door, and the shy Katie disappeared, replaced by the fierce, insistent one from a minute ago.

"It's just me," the gorgeous blonde doctor said, his hands held up in surrender. He turned to me and he smiled like a freaking angel. This had to be the legendary Dr. Cullen. "How are you feeling, Ms. Callahan?"

"I've been better," I said with a pathetic smile.

"You should go home now, Katie, you've been up all night. You can come back once both of you have had some rest," Dr. Cullen said.

"Alright. I'll see you soon, Lydia," Katie said, and with a small wave and pretty smile, she was gone.

"Now, let's see what we have to work with," Dr. Cullen said, and he carefully started to remove my bandages. It hurt like crazy, but I would live.

"It looks like skin grafts won't be necessary," he mused, "but a session of debridement won't hurt… and there will be noticeable scarring…"

I flinched. Not at the doctor's cool touch, but at his words – I would be scarred by this accident. Possibly for life.

"For how long?" I asked, trying to keep my voice from breaking.

"Probably the rest of your life," he said sadly.

For life. I would carry the physical reminder of my mistake for the rest of my life. It wasn't fair. Things like this weren't supposed to happen to me. Things like this didn't happen in small towns with no people… I didn't deserve this.

"Your fellow party mates won't have any permanent damage," Dr. Cullen continued. Of course they wouldn't. I was the one who did the right thing and went in to save Audrey – and I would be punished for it for the rest of my life. "Except for your friend, Audrey. The scars on her face and chest will be severe, and also for life."

My heart instantly ached for Audrey. But then I remembered her tangled with Ethan on the office floor, and my sympathy lessened. I knew I was a terrible person for that, but at the moment, I couldn't bring myself to care.

"We're going to keep you here for a few more days to make sure the healing starts correctly," Dr. Cullen said. "Your mother will be here in a few minutes."

With that, he left. I think he sensed my need to cry alone for a few minutes before my mother came in.

So I cried for my scars. And I cried for all that wouldn't be because of them.

* * *

><p>I was in the hospital for four days before they would let me go home. It would have been a normal Tuesday night if my left arm wasn't covered in bandages. Thursday, I was going back to school. As far as I was concerned, Thursday should never happen.<p>

My mother had left her constant computer-side vigil to focus all of her attention on me. For some reason, she blamed herself and her lack of attention.

I blamed my stupidity for going to save Audrey.

I had visited her before I left. Even with the skin grafts and debridement, her face and chest still looked awful. As soon as she saw my face, she started screaming at me. Apparently, she thought it was my fault she looked the way she did.

I should have let her die.

I felt guilty for thinking that, but it was what was on my mind. She was an ungrateful, evil, manipulative person who was trying to blame her injuries on the person who saved her. She didn't know how to live without her beauty getting her everything she wanted.

Besides, I now had an idea of what true beauty was. Katie was kind, sweet, and caring. She visited me every day I was in the hospital. Her boyfriend, Seth, would wait patiently for her in the waiting room, sometimes for hours. He never complained, and whenever I saw them together, there was no doubt in my mind that the two had been made for each other. They were so in love, it made my heart ache. I mean, what guy would want a disfigured girl like me? Ethan certainly wouldn't.

Before bed, I had to take a handful of pills. I had to take them in the morning, too. Some were antibiotics, so the wound wouldn't get infected. Others were pain meds to dull the constant ache and smother the flares of pain. Another was a multi-vitamin that was so huge I could barely swallow it. Apparently, I would need all the nutrients I could get.

I also had to spread a cream on my burns to help stop infection, and re-dress them in silver-based bandages (no one would tell me what 'silver-based' meant).

I slept terribly that night. Every hour, Amanda would turn her music up to full blast, and Mom would bang on her door and yell at her until she turned it down. This happened until four am.

Amanda left for school before I got up. Thank god, because if I saw her, I would gladly strangle her until her eyes popped out and her face turned blue.

Wow, this accident has really made me morbid…

"Good morning, Lydia!" My mother swept into the kitchen, kissing me on the cheek. "What would you like for breakfast this morning? Eggs would be good for protein, to get my little girl's strength back up!"

"Eggs sound good," I mumbled to the table. If she kept this up, it would be unbearable.

She set about her work by the gas stove. The crackling sound of the burner lighting made me jump. I stole a quick glance around the room, ensuring there were no flames other than the ones on the stove.

I started to sweat. I needed to leave the room before the fire started raging again. But I couldn't just leave my mother here, alone, being swallowed by the fire…

I mentally shook myself. The stove wasn't going to start a fire. It never had in all my seventeen years. My mother had cooked at that stove every day of my life, and it never started a fire. I would be fine.

At least, that's what I kept telling myself.

I continued to have a silent panic attack until she finally turned the burner off. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sweetheart, are you alright? You look so pale! I should take you back to the hospital…" my mother worried over me. I shook her off.

"I'm fine, Mom. Just tired. I think I'll go back to bed after eating," I said.

She frowned. "If you're sure… but if you're still pale after lunch, I'm taking you straight back to the doctor's office."

Her tone left no room for debate. I ate silently, barely able to swallow, but forcing it down to appease my mother. After the last bite was finally gone, I disappeared to my room.

I pulled out the notebook no one knew about – the one that held my poems. I hid them because they were absolutely terrible, and they were a direct line to my emotions of the moment. I mean, Audrey and everyone else would have a field day if they ever found out I was an emo poet.

The image of the flames coming to claim me made me shiver. And I surrendered to the emotions of the moment, and wrote.

_They made the fire, so they want it to spread,  
>The fire, the fire, the fire.<br>They fan the flame to the forest bed,  
>and the flames grew<br>Higher, and higher, and higher._

_Remember what the captain said,  
><em>_By the ocean-side,  
>Where we took our ride,<br>"We want no more soldiers to die,  
><em>_So come see us by the fire",  
>Prometheus desired, the fire,<br>As the flames grow higher._

_We lay upon our riverbed, upon the Styx,_  
><em>The filthy Styx upon the pyre,<em>  
><em>Eyes wide, quartered dry, heads to the sky,<em>  
><em>And they watch the flames grow higher, and higher,<em>  
><em>With fire, the fire, the fire.<em>

I felt better, as I usually did after writing. And, as always, I wasn't entirely sure what the poem was about. If someone were to ask me, "What does it mean? What is it talking about?" I would ask them, "Why does it matter?" Poetry is nothing but pretty words strung together prettily until emotion and imagination make it into something great.

At least, that's how I saw it.

With that, I put the notebook away and snuggled into my warm bed.

* * *

><p><strong>So, I'm still not sure what that poem is about, but I loved it, and it seemed like something Lydia would write, so I decided to use it. Again, it is not mine. Also, I looked at burn symptoms and medicinal strategies on some university website, to make Lydia's experience a bit more authentic.<strong>

**Questions! First: Katie made her real debut in this chapter! Do you all still love her as much as you did during Love Like Crazy? 'Cause I know I do. Second: Lydia has shown just how bitter she is in this chapter, and it's only going to get worse. Do you guys think it's too much? Or not enough, considering all she's been through? Third: What do you think of Lydia's (aka some person's from PoemHunter) poem? Fourth: Predictions and suggestions on how to make this fic better?**

**An extra shout-out to ThatOneDiabeticGirl, for her review sharing her personal story to help my fic become as realistic as possible. Hopefully, your life is much better than Lydia's in the next few chapters :)**


	3. With a Little Help From My Friends

**So, even though I have most of this story planned out, I was struck with writer's block... and a hefty dose of homework. And by homework, I mean I had to do like 4 essays, read 6 books, and about 5 quizzes, in about two weeks. So that sucked, and then I pushed through the block to give you this chapter! Don't hate me for being so long! Please review!**

**Oh yeah, and I don't own Twilight or any of its characters. I only own my OCs and the plot. Don't sue me. This statement applies to all previous chapters, and all chapters henceforth. Bitches.**

**As you can probably tell, I am exhausted and slightly out of my mind at the moment. Forgive me. And I don't own the song or Ringo Starr.**

* * *

><p>Lydia's POV<p>

I was feeling nice and rested after my long nap, and in a much better mood. I sat up and stretched – and my arm flinched in protest. Man, I hope that's not permanent…

I looked at the clock. It was only 2:30? What was I going to do with the rest of my day?

Watching TV or a movie didn't sound very appealing right now. Maybe I could just relax and listen to some music. Katie had suggested a few bands I might – Katie!

Hanging out with Katie sounded amazing right now. She should be out of school in half an hour. I sent her a text, asking her to come over to my house and entertain my bored ass. Five minutes later, she texted back that she would love to come over and entertain me, but she wasn't touching my ass. Fair enough.

While I waited for her, I tried to think of things we could do. There wasn't much in the way of snacks in my house right now – Mom had decided to go on a diet so she could be hot when my dad got back. Like my dad cared about how she looked. He would be so happy to be home, he probably wouldn't even notice my arm. Okay, he would, but he'll still be obliviously happy.

I still didn't want to watch movies. Maybe Katie would bring her iPod so she could play some of those lesser-known bands she likes so much. Or I could try to increase her level of taste in clothes. She could help me pick out an outfit for school tomorrow, too.

Forty-five minutes after my initial text, Katie was knocking on the door. She was wearing a giant black sweater that she was absolutely drowning in. I mean, the thing fell down to her knees. There was at least six inches between the tips of her fingers and where the sleeves ended below them. A pretty acoustic guitar was strapped to her back.

"Hey Lydia!" Katie greeted me with a huge smile. Suddenly, I couldn't care less about her clothes. She was a genuinely kind person, and I needed that no-questions-asked kind of understanding she always gives me right now.

"It's so good to see you," I said, pulling her into a hug. I did my best to not bump the guitar.

She gave me her brilliant signature smile, the one that always puts me at ease. I barely knew her, but she was already one of my closest friends. It was strange, but it felt right.

"Come on in," I said, gesturing her inside.

"It's good to see you, too. How are you feeling?" she asked kindly. I knew she was being careful about asking me. She wanted to show she cared about how I was, but she didn't want me to feel obligated to tell her everything. Less was always more with her.

"I've definitely had better days, but I'm doing okay, considering," I replied. "But you never told me you played the guitar!"

I led her up the stairs to my room, and we took a seat on the floor pillows I had taken out of the closet.

"Really?" Katie looked surprised. "It's not a secret. I could have sworn I told you. But I brought it today to try and cheer you up. You sounded a little upset in your text."

"Yeah, 'cause I'm bored out of my freaking mind. What songs can you play?" I asked eagerly.

"Um, a fair few. But I thought of one in particular that I thought you might like to hear right now," Katie said sheepishly. She started strumming the guitar.

"_What would you think if I sang out of tune  
>Would you stand up and walk out on me?<br>Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song  
>And I'll try not to sing out of key<br>Oh I get by with a little help from my friends  
>Mm I get high with a little help from my friends<br>Mm going to try with a little help from my friends_

_"What do I do when my love is away?_  
><em>(Does it worry you to be alone?)<em>  
><em>How do I feel by the end of the day?<em>  
><em>(Are you sad because you're on your own?)<em>  
><em>No I get by with a little help from my friends<em>  
><em>Mm I get high with a little help from my friends<em>  
><em>Mm going to try with a little help from my friends<em>

_"(Do you need anybody?)_  
><em>I need somebody to love<em>  
><em>(Could it be anybody?)<em>  
><em>I want somebody to love"<em>

I couldn't help but feel awe as Katie's fingers flew over the frets effortlessly and her voice rose with confidence she had never displayed before. Not only was she beautiful and kind, she was talented, too. Ringo Starr had _nothing_ on Katie Carter.

_"(Would you believe in a love at first sight?)_  
><em>Yes I'm certain that it happens all the time<em>  
><em>(What do you see when you turn out the light?)<em>  
><em>I can't tell you, but I know it's mine<em>  
><em>Oh I get by with a little help from my friends<em>  
><em>Mm I get high with a little help from my friends<em>  
><em>Oh I'm going to try with a little help from my friends<em>

_"(Do you need anybody?)_  
><em>I just need somebody to love<em>  
><em>(Could it be anybody?)<em>  
><em>I want somebody to love<em>

_Oh I get by with a little help from my friends_  
><em>Mm going to try with a little help from my friends<em>  
><em>Oh I get high with a little help from my friends<em>  
><em>Yes I get by with a little help from my friends<em>  
><em>With a little help from my friends"<em>

"That… was so amazing," I said once the last chord drifted into silence. "And yeah, the song's meaning… definitely has a place right now."

Katie smiled. "Thanks. I'm really glad you liked it; this was my first time singing in front of someone other than the boys."

I knew by now that the boys were Seth, Brady, and Collin. I had heard enough about them in the past few days to figure that much out. I also had a feeling Katie had sung this song to herself more than once, to remind herself that she had friends to rely on.

"Well, you can sing to me any time you want," I said. "But for right now, I need your help with something else. I don't know what to wear tomorrow, and I am at a complete loss."

Katie's eyes widened. "I'm not sure I'm the one you should ask that question. As you can probably tell, I'm not very fashion-forward."

"You will be by the time I'm through with you," I said confidently.

"Good luck with that," Katie laughed.

"Get up," I insisted. "Your lesson in fashion starts right now, because I simply cannot take your depressing style anymore. You're so cute and gorgeous! Show it off!"

Before she could protest, I hauled her over to my closet, started pulling things off of hangers, and telling her their importance and uses – and what would look best on her.

"These skinny jeans would look amazing on you, because of your long, gorgeous legs," I said while Katie nodded. "Pair them with a set of fun-colored high-heels, and your legs will look a mile long. But with this top here, you should go with a pair of flats, so it doesn't get too dressy. Unless dressy is the look you're going for, of course."

"I should be writing this down," Katie muttered.

An hour later, I had covered the fashion basics. Meaning, Katie knew that wearing those over-sized sweatshirts wasn't going to fly anymore.

"You'll thank me for this later," I reminded Katie as she looked at the giant pile of clothes now covering my bed. I think I gave her too much information too quickly.

"Sure," Katie said with wide eyes, sounding very unsure.

"At least, Seth will thank me," I said.

"But Seth said he thinks it's sexy when I wear his old sweatshirts…" Katie said sadly.

"I'm sure Seth does think you're sexy in that giant, ragged old sweatshirt. But I don't think he'd mind being able to actually see your body from time to time, even if it's only a rare occasion," I told her.

Katie sighed. "That makes too much sense. I guess I'll actually have to learn about fashion now."

"Good. Try watching the show _What Not to Wear_," I suggested. "They do complete makeovers for people who desperately need them, and I think their rules for clothing will really help."

"Okay," Katie said.

She started digging through the pile of clothes, and pulled out a loose, flowy white top. She held it up to me.

"This would be good for tomorrow, right? If you pair it with skinny jeans?" Katie asked nervously.

I examined my new friend – and the garment in her hands – closely. "You're a natural at this! Yes, that will totally work! It's perfect!"

Katie smiled. "I thought something loose wouldn't hurt your arm and would cover the bandages, and skinny jeans complement the looseness of the top, right?"

"You'll be a fashionista in no time!" I squealed, and pulled Katie into a hug. She let out an adorable squeak as I tackled her. She was just so adorable, I couldn't help it.

We spent the next hour talking. She told me about how her old guitar was so beaten up her father and Seth pooled their resources to get her a nice one – the one she was showing me now – for Christmas. Her dad sounded like a great guy, and Seth sounded even better. I was glad that even though she didn't really have friends at school, she had people who would go through hell for her at home.

Eventually, Katie had to go home to cook dinner. Apparently, she did most of the chores around the house since her mother left. She didn't really talk about her mother or the divorce, and I got the feeling that she really didn't want to talk about it. It made me wonder about how bad the divorce had been – and what caused it.

My mother made dinner again, insisting all three of us girls eat at the table and have a "normal family dinner". Amanda instantly threw a fit, saying we would never be a normal family until Dad and Steve came home. I couldn't help but silently agree with her as she stomped upstairs with her plate. Mom and I didn't speak again.

* * *

><p>I knew school was going to be rough. I didn't know it would be this bad.<p>

Everyone and their mother decided I had to tell them what happened the night of the fire. In excruciating detail. And they wouldn't take no for an answer.

Lindsey and Joanna had to beat them off in between classes. Lunch was the worst, though.

Ethan sat next to me. At first I thought he was going to offer a sympathetic ear and comfort me, and that all of my dreams for the two of us were going to come true because of this awful accident. Instead, he asked, "So there's a rumor going around that you purposefully pushed Audrey into the fire. Any truth to that?"

"Of course not!" I shouted, absolutely appalled that he could even think I could do something like that. "A bookshelf fell on her! I got burned pushing it off! I saved her, you ginormous piece of shit, and you're a monster for even suggesting otherwise!"

With that, I got up and left the cafeteria, not even bothering with my lunch. I had zero appetite now.

In the now deserted hallways, Katie found me.

"Let's hide in the library. No one ever goes there during lunch," she explained briefly, taking my arm and leading me.

"You know what happened to Audrey was an accident, right? You know I didn't hurt her, right?" I asked desperately. As long as Katie knew I didn't, I felt like I could hold my head high and deal.

"Of course, why are you asking me that?" Katie replied, so matter-of-factly that I couldn't help but be comforted.

The school library of Forks High was so small and insignificant; it looked like no one had entered it in several decades. Katie must hide here when people teased her too much.

I pushed that thought away before my guilt could reduce my already-precarious state into full-blown tears.

We sat down on the floor in between the science and history sections. Katie handed me a granola bar and said, "You need to eat something or you'll pass out."

I took a bite out of it and wrinkled my nose. It was gross. How did she eat this stuff?

"I know it's gross, but it's all I have right now," Katie said. "I had a feeling you would run away from the hordes today, but I didn't think you would leave your lunch behind. I've been looking for a quiet place to hide all week for you, and this place was perfect. No one even knows we have a library."

"Yeah, that was pretty stupid of me to leave my lunch," I admitted. "But how did you know I would need to get away?"

Katie's face darkened. "Trust me, when horrible things happen, _everyone_ wants to know about it, especially from the person who experienced it."

Oh. She must know that from her parents' divorce. Everyone in town was shocked by it, and everyone wanted to know what went wrong.

But Katie's face brightened quickly, and she asked, "Hey, I'm having a movie night at my house tomorrow after school. Want to come?"

"Sure! Who's going?" I asked. Katie didn't really have friends here at school. At least, I hadn't seen her with anyone else.

"Oh, Seth, of course, and Brady and Collin, Seth's older sister, Leah, and her boyfriend, Beast."

"Beast?" I asked.

"Yeah, he's a big kid. It's a long story," she said.

"Whatevs, I'm down as long as there's food and no booze," I said.

"Trust me, with these guys, there's _always_ food. You might have to fight them for it, though."

"Tch, then they better bring it! I'll kick their asses!"

Katie laughed, and I couldn't help but feel happy again. I felt a twinge of unease at meeting new people with my bandages still on, but if they were Katie's friends, they shouldn't mind too much. Right?

* * *

><p><strong>Well, that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Questions! First, I hope you all appreciated this softer (sorta) side of Lydia in this chapter. I know a lot of people were put-off by the... well, they wouldn't really articulate what it was, so is it better? Second, what did you guys think about the song? I'm probably going to have more songs in later chapters. Do you like this, or do you think I should not put in any songs? Third, Ethan is just a perfect asshole, isn't he? I couldn't really think of another question, so what do you guys think of him so far? Fourth, predictions or suggestions?<strong>

**Thanks for reading, and please review! (Hint* I'll update sooner if you do!)**


	4. Through the Day

**So... I feel like absolute shit for making you all wait so long. Explanation will be at the bottom of the chapter. **

* * *

><p>Lydia's POV<p>

They wouldn't stop staring.

It was like I was made of magnets, and every student at Forks High suddenly had metal eyeballs. Everywhere I went, there were people following me. Not talking to me, or offering sympathy, or anything humane like that, oh no. They wanted to know who set the fire (apparently, arson was the only answer in their minds, even though the fire department already ruled it out). They wanted to know why I went back in for Audrey (she's my best friend!). They wanted to know every single detail.

And, like the idiot I was, I gave it to them.

I told the whole story, exactly like it happened. From getting Lindsey out, to meeting Ethan outside, to getting Audrey out, I told the complete truth, just to get my story out. Except for the boy who caught me after jumping through the window. That was my secret. I wasn't going to share it with anyone.

And Audrey sleeping with my crush. I was definitely taking secret to my grave.

The day seemed to inch by, as if it were mocking me with every minute that finally ticked past. Honestly, were the clocks in this school really that slow before the fire?

Lunch was especially brutal, since the rumor that Audrey was coming back on Monday reached me in the lunch line. People stopped bothering me after that, talking about Audrey and how wonderful it would be when she got back.

Ethan helped cheer me up, though, by calling her a giant slut. Lindsey and Joanna joined in enthusiastically, calling her every rude, slutty name they could think of. It was petty, but it made me feel better. It also confused me. Did Ethan think she was a giant slut when he slept with her himself?

However, this short moment of petty joy was completely erased when Katie walked by and gave me an encouraging smile. Ethan jumped on the chance to humiliate her, calling her… well… the nicest way to put it is "ugly". Katie walked away quickly, sniffling quietly.

Ugh, didn't she know Ethan could be a total tool? She couldn't take what he said to heart.

The only thing that made the day bearable was the knowledge that once school finally let out, I would go straight to Katie's house. I would finally get to officially meet her boyfriend, Seth, and his friends. The way she talked about Seth… it was so cute. She was head over heels in love with the guy.

But, and I just remembered this, someone was depending on me to take her home. I sighed. Why couldn't I have been an only child?

Amanda and her friends hung outside during lunch, even when it was raining. They all wore dark clothes with obnoxiously bright dyed hair, or dyed black hair. I'm sure they're very nice people and all, but they look so… weird. I couldn't get over it.

She was in the middle of the group, laughing at some joke I'm sure I wouldn't have understood even if I heard it.

"Hey Amanda," I greeted her civilly. "I'm going over to a friend's house after school today. Can you catch a ride with one of your friends –" I nodded to her group with a small smile "– or do you need me to drop you off still?"

She gave me a cold stare that almost gave me shivers. She finally turned to one of the tall, skinny boys and asked, "Sky, can you give me a lift today? Preppy wants to visit the burn victim."

"Actually, I'm not going to Audrey's house," I corrected her lightly.

Everyone raised their eyebrows. In unison. How creepy.

"Where else would you go?" Amanda asked with a laugh.

"Katie Carter's," I replied instantly. "We're having a movie night. Chocolate, popcorn, other treats that will freeze my arteries. The usual."

Amanda stopped laughing. "Really? Okay then. Sky?"

"Yeah, I can give you a ride. Have fun at Katie's. She needs more friends," he said, in a tone of voice that implied she needed a better friend than me. I couldn't disagree with that. Katie was too sweet and wonderful for a bitch like me.

"And don't worry, _sis_, we won't tell anyone you're hanging out with a _loser_ like Katie," Amanda sneered.

"Thanks," I said flippantly, and I walked away.

* * *

><p>After school, I gave Katie a ride back to her place. It was a cute white house, with blue trim and a porch.<p>

"So, what song are you going to play for me when we get inside?" I asked as we walked to the front door.

"I don't know. What song do you want to hear?" she asked me as she unlocked the door.

"How should I know what songs you know how to play?" I responded. I thought about it for a moment, though. "I don't know… something… good."

"Something good? Okay," she said happily. "I'll see what I can come up with."

A few minutes later, we were sitting on her living room floor, with a pile of DVDs to choose from, and Katie's guitar in her capable hands.

"I just learned this one a few days ago, so let me know how it is," Katie smiled nervously. I nodded. Then her fingers started moving over the strings like a pro, and I was mesmerized before she even opened her mouth to sing.

"_From underneath the trees, we watch the sky,  
>Confusing stars for satellites.<br>I never dreamed that you'd be mine,  
>But here we are, we're here tonight.<em>

_"Singing Amen, I, I'm alive_  
><em>Singing Amen, I, I'm alive<em>

_"If everyone cared and nobody cried,_  
><em>If everyone loved and nobody lied,<em>  
><em>If everyone shared and swallowed their pride,<em>  
><em>Then we'd see the day when nobody died.<em>

_"And I'm singing,_  
><em>Amen I, Amen I, I'm alive<em>  
><em>Amen I, Amen I, Amen I, I'm alive<em>

_"And in the air the fireflies,_  
><em>Our only light in paradise,<em>  
><em>We'll show the world they were wrong,<em>  
><em>And teach them all to sing along.<em>

_"Singing Amen, I, I'm alive_  
><em>Singing Amen, I, I'm alive<em>  
><em>(I'm alive)<em>

_"If everyone cared and nobody cried,_  
><em>If everyone loved and nobody lied,<em>  
><em>If everyone shared and swallowed their pride,<em>  
><em>Then we'd see the day when nobody died.<em>

_"And as we lie beneath the stars,_  
><em>We realize how small we are.<em>  
><em>If they could love like you and me,<em>  
><em>Imagine what the world could be.<em>

_"If everyone cared and nobody cried,_  
><em>If everyone loved and nobody lied,<em>  
><em>If everyone shared and swallowed their pride,<em>  
><em>Then we'd see the day when nobody died,<em>  
><em>When nobody died...<em>

_"If everyone cared and nobody cried,_  
><em>If everyone loved and nobody lied,<em>  
><em>If everyone shared and swallowed their pride,<em>  
><em>Then we'd see the day when nobody died.<em>

_"We'd see the day, we'd see the day_  
><em>When nobody died<em>  
><em>We'd see the day, we'd see the day<em>  
><em>When nobody died<em>  
><em>We'd see the day when nobody died."<em>

Once again, I was completely awestruck. Not just by how awesome of a musician Katie was, but by the transformation she made every time she sang. The shy, quiet, almost invisible girl suddenly shone like a superstar, and her confidence shot through the roof. It was like she became a different person.

"Amazing, but that's no surprise," I said. She blushed.

Her phone buzzed suddenly, and Katie set aside her guitar to reach for it.

"Seth says he and the boys will be here in about fifteen minutes," she said happily.

"Cool," I replied. "Let's check out your closet. I'm almost terrified of what I'll find."

"Well… you'll be terrified, but not for the reasons you're thinking," Katie said cryptically.

Once inside her room and with the closet doors open, her comment made sense. Too much sense.

"Why… would you wear Seth's old sweatshirts… when you could wear… these are some of the most up-to-date fashions, some straight off the runway!" I sputtered. I rummaged through the closet, to examine the damage closely.

"Michael Kors… D&G… Gucci… Lucky… and this gown! It's an Oscar de la Renta original!" I gasped. "This gown could be seen on the red carpet for the Oscars! This is the kind of stuff actors and musicians and super-freaking-rich people wear!"

"Oh, Alice gave me most of this stuff," Katie said offhandedly. "She hates my wardrobe as much as you do. And that dress was supposed to be for junior prom this year, but I'm probably not going."

My surprise from Katie's last statement was enough to distract me from the magnificence of Katie's closet of perfection. "You're not going to prom? Why not?"

She shrugged. "It didn't seem like fun. I don't really know how to dance, and I don't really have any friends at school to hang out with. Except for you, of course, but Audrey and the others would ostracize you if you even spoke to me."

I opened my mouth to contradict her, but she was right. It would just be her and Seth in a corner all night, by themselves. And the school would still make her life hell, even in this dress. It was so sad. It was heartbreaking that she couldn't have this normal high school experience because a bunch of other girls got their rocks off on being cruel.

"You should still wear this dress sometime. It's absolutely gorgeous, and it would look totally fabulous on you," I said finally.

Katie gave me a grateful smile. She must have been glad I didn't press the prom issue.

"Plus," I continued, "you have _got_ to start wearing some of this stuff! It's criminal to hide such stunning fashion in the closet like this!"

"Maybe," Katie replied evasively. She changed the subject quickly. "Why don't we go downstairs and pick a movie before the boys get here?"

"Good idea. I don't want to watch some crappy action flick."

"What about good action movies?"

"Why not? I mean, if it's actually good, of course."

We heard the front door downstairs slam open, and a loud, deep male voice called, "Katie? You here?"

"I guess the boys are here," Katie said happily. "Ready to meet them?"

My right hand brushed my bandages nervously. "Born ready," I said with as much confidence as I could muster.

Apparently, Seth couldn't wait for Katie to meet him downstairs. They ran into one another on the stairs, and shared a quick passionate kiss before Katie turned to me.

"Seth, this is Lydia. Lydia, this is my boyfriend, Seth."

Seth was incredibly tall, and nothing but lean muscle. He looked like he just walked off a photo shoot for a high-fashion magazine… and the photographer just mentioned no photoshopping would be required for this batch of pictures. Only his bright eyes and happy-go-lucky grin gave away his real age and temperament.

"Hi! It's nice to finally meet you!" Seth greeted me enthusiastically.

"You, too. It's weird, with all of the time you spent in the hospital waiting for Katie, we never actually met," I said with a smile. "She never shuts up about you, either."

Katie blushed furiously at this comment.

"Since her guitar is downstairs, I'm pretty sure you talk about more than just me. Besides, I'm boring," Seth said with a grin, his arm around Katie's waist.

She gave him a light glare. "You are anything but boring. Come on, everyone else is downstairs waiting."

He led Katie down, holding her hand. He kept turning to look at her every five seconds, like he couldn't keep his eyes off her for too long. He was just as crazy for her as she was for him; it was as obvious now as when I first saw them together. A small hint of envy hit me, though I knew if anyone deserved this love, it was Katie. I couldn't help but think _why can't that be me?_

Two other boys who looked like Seth's brothers were lounging on the couches when we walked into the living room. One of them said, "Jeez, did Seth have to save you guys from the monster in the closet? Took you long enough. Where's the food?"

"One track mind, as usual," Katie said with a roll of her eyes. "That's Collin, the perpetually hungry one with the bad jokes."

"Hey! My jokes are fantastic. I always make you guys laugh," Collin huffed.

"Sure you do. And the one next to him is Brady."

Just one glance at Brady's face was all it took to remind me – he was the boy who had caught me after I jumped from the fire.

The shocked look on his face confirmed it.

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><p><strong>Not my best chapter, since I editted it in about five minutes, but after receiving a pointed review yesterday asking where the hell I went, I realized I hadn't updated in two months. I've taken my time updating before, but I've never been that late. Truthfully, I just finished my first semester at my new university, and it kicked my ass. I'm a good student, but this school is on a whole 'nother level. I escaped with good grades, but it consumed all of my time. And I had a part time job on top of that. I told you guys before; my education takes first priority over any story on here. So does paying the bills.<strong>

**I just want to thank everyone who has stuck with me through all of this. I can't believe I have fans! So many reviews that tell me they like not just my stories, but my personal writing style! It's so uplifting, and they get me through the hard days. So if you love my writing or my stories, tell me in a review! If you don't like something (other than the time issue), tell me how to improve. It has helped me so much so far - I read a piece of my work from a few years ago, and it was terrible. I've already improved so much thanks to you guys. But I know I can improve more, and I want to write professionally some day, so the more feedback, the better!**

**Thanks, everyone! Please review!**


	5. Movie Magic

**'Sup, guys? So... life. It happens. Everyone thank the-compulsive-tea-drinker for threatening me with great bodily harm if I didn't update. If you're curious why I dropped off the face of the Earth for a few years, read the Author's Note at the bottom. For now, read on!**

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><p>Brady's POV<p>

I didn't know what to expect when we arrived at Katie's house. Obviously, we had been here before. Quite a few times, actually (enough to make Mr. Carter jokingly complain about us eating all of his food).

But this time, Katie wouldn't be alone. Lydia would be there.

The change was evident as soon as we drove up the street. A little sedan sat in the driveway, and it wasn't Mr. Carter's police cruiser. Did Lydia already have a car? That would make seeing her a lot easier; she could drive to see me half the time, and I could run to see her the other half. Once she knew I could just run, of course.

I struggled to remember as much as I could about her. The first time I saw her was through the glass window of that burning house – it had taken Seth, Collin, and Embry to keep me from going in after her.

And then… she jumped.

Just like that. She had thrown a rug out of the way to clear the flames, and she jumped with her unconscious friend, right into my arms. That already told me so much about her: she was cunning, determined, loyal, and courageous to the point of stupidity. I loved all of those qualities. They made me want to get to know her even more.

I held her hand, talking to her after she fell unconscious. It almost killed me when the ambulance took her away.

But my friends were there for us. Katie stayed in Lydia's room until she woke up, and Seth and Collin waited with me outside the door. They were both ecstatic and terrified with me; ecstatic that I had imprinted, terrified that she was hurt.

It had only been a week since that god-awful night, and Katie and Lydia were already best friends. Further proof that, someday, Lydia and I would be perfect together.

Of course, getting there would take time and effort, and we would face bumps along the way. Every couple does. I mean, look at the hell Katie and Seth had to go through, just to get together.

Seth didn't bother knocking on the front door. He had his own key already.

Jeez, how do you prepare to meet the girl of your dreams?

"Just breathe," Seth whispered. "They're upstairs. I'll go get them and break the ice for you."

He hopped up the stairs before I could say thank you.

"It'll be okay, man. Chill," was Collin's oh-so excellent advice. I heard Seth talking to the girls on the landing.

He was leading them down.

Shit, shit, shit…

Then Seth came around the corner with an arm around Katie, with Lydia trailing behind.

Jeez, has she always been that freaking beautiful? I mean, come on! How had I forgotten _this_? Her shiny, dark brown hair was in a ponytail, showing off her face. I couldn't tell you what she was wearing – hell, she might've been naked – because I couldn't take my eyes off her face. Especially her eyes. God, those _eyes_…

Collin broke the ice for us. "Jeez, did Seth have to save you guys from the monster in the closet? Took you long enough. Where's the food?"

I could almost see Katie virtually slapping her palm against her forehead. Instead, she sighed, "One track mind, as usual. That's Collin, the perpetually hungry one with the bad jokes."

Collin visibly bristled, but I could see the smile he was trying to hide. "Hey! My jokes are fantastic. I always make you guys laugh."

"Sure you do. And the one next to him is Brady."

Her eyes focused exclusively on me, and I was done for. They were big and wide, like she was surprised. Maybe she recognized what I already knew instinctively.

I managed a casual wave, and a smile after saying, "Hey."

Smooth.

"Guys, this is Lydia."

She smiled at us, and gave a tiny wave.

I felt so awkward in front of her. So clumsy. Like this was my big chance to make a great first impression with Lydia, and I was screwing up big time.

Talk to Katie, I told myself. She'll lead you in the right direction.

"Couldn't wait 'til I was here to break out the guitar, huh, Katie?" I said with a big smile. "I thought we were just watching movies today."

"We are," Katie replied with a smile of her own. "Lydia wanted to hear a song, so I played for her."

"Really? Then you should bring her to our jam session tomorrow," I suggested.

"You guys all play instruments?" Lydia asked curiously. Yes! I piqued her interest. We weren't even five minutes into the first meeting, and I was already setting up the second. That's got to be a record or something.

"Let's go sit down and get some food," Collin interrupted. "And yeah. I play drums, Katie plays guitar, Brady's on bass, and Seth is learning how to play the piano."

"That's so cool," Lydia replied as we all moved to the living room. There was already a pile of movies on the floor, so the girls must have already picked one out.

"Yeah, but it's even cooler when Beast comes over, 'cause he can do all sorts of awesome things with a synthesizer. But he's always glued to Leah these days," Collin said with a frown.

"Speaking of Beast and Leah, where are they?" Katie asked.

"They were making out on the couch when I left, so I think it's safe to assume they're going to be late," Seth laughed.

"Fine, as long as Leah doesn't bitch about whatever movie we choose," Collin said quickly.

"Hey, Katie and Lydia are here, so we'll still end up watching a rom-com anyway," I said.

"Alright, truth time," Lydia said with a big sigh. "I hate romantic comedies. Can we watch a good action movie? Like _Die Hard_, or something?"

"A girl who likes action movies?" Collin said, dumbfounded.

"Marry me," I said blankly.

"Chill, guys," Katie said, rolling her eyes. "That doesn't mean she doesn't like romance. She just likes a few fights."

"Yeah, I really like romantic movies. Just the romantic comedies… there's just something about them that bugs me. I think it's the fact that nothing like that ever happens in real life, and the movie plays it off like, '_This happens in real life all the time, no big deal_'. It's ridiculous to even think half of the stuff that happens in those is even remotely possible," Lydia explained.

"What about _Scott Pilgrim_?" I asked excitedly. "It has epic fights, and awesome music, and it all revolves around romance."

From what Lydia said, she should love that movie. It was one of Katie's favorites. It didn't take long to figure out she had a thing for musicals.

"I love _Scott Pilgrim_!" Katie exclaimed.

"Never heard of it," Lydia frowned.

"_Scott Pilgrim Versus the World_?It's one of the best movies ever, you'll see," Katie reassured her.

In less than ten minutes, we were all gathered around the TV with plenty of snacks (Lydia's eyes had widened when we came back from the kitchen), and the beginning credits for the movie were rolling. By some miracle (or Katie's ninja skills), Lydia was sitting between me and Katie, and it took all of my self control not to throw my arm around her shoulders like Seth had done with Katie. He was such a lucky bastard…

It was more entertaining to watch the girls instead of the movie itself. Lydia gasped and awed at all of the right moments, and Katie sang along to every song.

As the ending credits rolled, Katie turned to us and said, "Well, we demolished the snacks. Should I go pick up a pizza or something?"

"Yes," Seth, Collin, and I all replied at once. Katie and Lydia giggled for some reason.

"Come on, Seth," Katie said, still laughing. "You're driving me."

"Sure thing, beautiful," Seth replied happily. With that, they got up and left.

"Oh yeah, sure, don't even ask us what kind of pizza we want," Collin grumbled, rolling his eyes sarcastically.

"Would it really matter? I mean, I'm pretty sure you guys would eat just about anything that wasn't poisoned, and even then…" Lydia laughed.

"That is not true," I insisted playfully, seeing my chance at some excellent flirt time, "I have standards. These guys don't, but I do."

"Oh, really? What kind of standards?" Lydia asked devilishly. Oh yeah, this girl knew how to flirt. Thank god.

"Anchovies. I hate anchovies. If Katie and Seth come back with anchovies, I'm making Seth eat every single one."

"If they bought anchovies, wouldn't it mean that Seth probably likes them? Not much of a punishment."

"It would be after I poison them."

"I think Katie might have a problem with that."

"Naw, I'd just promise to take her to Coachella."

"You just killed her boyfriend, and you want to take her to a music festival in California?"

"No way, I wouldn't kill Seth! He's one of my best friends! I would only poison him enough to send him to the hospital for a few weeks."

"Wow, what a great friend."

"Aren't I?"

"Ugh!" Lydia and I looked away from one another to Collin as he threw up his hands and got up. "I'm going to go – call someone. Beast. Yeah, I'm going to go call Beast and see where the hell him and Leah are."

With that, he went out the back door.

Lydia blinked. "Was it something we said?"

"Naw, he's just been in a funk lately. He'll be okay," I assured her with a smile. She couldn't know that he was just upset about the imprinting. Yet. Knowing she'd be in on the secret soon cheered me up a lot, though.

She didn't look very assured, so I said, in my most gallant voice, "No worries, lovely Lia, he'll be fine."

"My name is Lydia," she said firmly with furrowed brows.

"I know," I recovered quickly. "Do you not like nicknames? I just took out the 'y' and the 'd,' or do you spell it with an 'i' and a 'd,' because I know some people do that."

I quickly shut my mouth before I kept rambling, trying to gauge her reaction.

"Oh. Well, yeah, if it's just a nickname, I guess," she said with a shrug. "But what's with the 'lovely' part?"

Well, they say honesty is the best policy. "Isn't it obvious?" I said with a smile.

She blushed a little and looked away, rubbing her left arm. But before I could say anything else (like ask her on a date), the front door opened. Katie and Seth couldn't be back already…

"Hey, losers! Where's dinner?"

Oh god, Leah's here. And it was going so well…

"Jeez, Lee, at least say 'hi' first," Beast said as he and Leah walked into the living room.

"I did. I said, 'Hey, losers.' Where's Seth? Him and Katie get sick of you guys already?" she said, flopping on the opposite couch by the TV.

"Hey, Leah, hey, Beast. They're getting pizza. They'll be back in about twenty minutes," I said.

"Got it. Where's doofus?" she asked, looking around the room.

"Leah, there are a lot of people you call doofus. You're going to have to be a little more specific," I smiled. I glanced at Lydia, to see how she was handling the unholy terror that is Leah, and she seemed okay. A bit on edge, but everyone is around Leah. After she and Beast imprinted on one another, she had become a lot less angry. But Leah was still a bitch at heart, and we all had the feeling she always would be.

Which is a pain in everyone's ass except for Beast. He seemed to love it. Poor bastard.

"Number three of the three stooges."

"Oh, Collin. Out back."

"Tch. Whatever. What movie are we watching next?"

"First things first. Leah, Beast, this is Lydia. Lydia, that's Leah and Beast," I said quickly, knowing I wouldn't get the chance for a formal introduction before the ensuing argument.

"Hello," Lydia said politely.

"Hi. So what movie?" Leah said succinctly.

The ensuing argument was something to behold, as Leah argued for "Black Swan" and I argued for "The Avengers." Beast was, naturally, on Leah's side, but Lydia was silent. Leah and I went at it for what seemed like half an hour when Seth and Katie finally came home with the pizzas.

"Oh hey, we're watching "The Avengers"?" Katie asked excitedly as she walked into the room.

Leah and I turned around to see Lydia sitting in front of the DVD player, with "The Avengers" menu screen splayed on the TV behind her. "You guys seemed busy, so I just popped it in," she said with a smile that can only be described as wicked.

"Marry me," I heard myself deadpan again. Leah smacked me upside the head.

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><p><strong>Well, that took longer than I initially thought. So basically, I went to big-girl college (one of the top universities on the west coast), had a job, and a boyfriend, which left zero time for this story (or anything else, really). I've graduated now, which you would think would leave a lot of time to write, but trying to find a full-time job and planning a wedding leaves the whole "time" thing a little short. And yes, I am getting married :D<strong>

**So, after my ridiculous hiatus, what do you think? This story is definitely about developing multiple characters and relationships, and pushing myself out of my comfort zone. So, review questions! 1. Who is your favorite character so far and why? 2. Who is your least favorite character and why? (If you all say Ethan, I will be disappointed) and 3. Predictions, comments, questions, concerns?**


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